International Women's Day

March 8^th 2026, is International Women’s Day (IWD). This year, it is 115 years since the day was first marked in four countries. Today it is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, as well as a call to action for advancing gender equality.  115 years on, it is still a call to action for advancing gender equality. 

IWD provides an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come, how much there is still to achieve, and to provide inspiration to others about what is possible. EL Healthcare Education is a business founded by two women, with different skills and backgrounds, but with a shared vision to create something different in healthcare education and by doing so, take control of their own professional lives. Ellie and Lizzie founded the company in 2022, with an initial plan to provide design services to organisations wanting to develop e-learning for healthcare professionals. Early discussions focused more on the company ethos and values than on the value proposition and business model. Lizzie and Ellie both believe that a company’s values are the foundations that shape decisions, culture, credibility, and long-term impact. Having clear, shared values was essential before committing to setting up a company. The company values, that have guided every decision over the last four years are:

• Collaboration – We work closely with healthcare organisations, educational bodies, and individual healthcare professionals to create bespoke training solutions that meet real-world needs.

• Integrity – We are committed to providing honest, transparent, and high-quality healthcare education that delivers lasting value.

• Passion – We are motivated by our work and care deeply about making a meaningful impact in the healthcare sector, particularly in patient care improvement.

• Empowerment – We empower healthcare professionals to take charge of their learning, build confidence, and deliver better person-centred care.

• Innovation – We continuously seek to push the boundaries of digital learning, ensuring that the solutions we offer are always at the cutting edge of technology and education.

For Ellie and Lizzie, these values are not marketing statements. They are shaped by their own professional journeys, by the opportunities they were given, the barriers they experienced, and the moments when they had to decide whether to stay where they were or step forward into something uncertain. Setting up EL Healthcare Education was more than a business decision; it was a personal one.

Ellie Bates (left) and Lizzie Mills (right)

Lizzie’s Journey

I am a pharmacist, a profession that is predominantly female, with around 62% of pharmacists on the register identifying as women. I have almost always worked in female-dominated teams, and I sometimes forget that this is not the experience of many women in other sectors. Yet despite forming the majority of the workforce, women remain underrepresented in pharmacy leadership.

Early in my career as a community pharmacist, working for independent pharmacies and small chains, the business owners were always men. I didn’t see women leading organisations in ways I could relate to. I had opportunities to progress in community pharmacy, but I didn’t want my work to revolve around targets rather than people. Instead, I completed a PhD in pharmacy education and moved into academia, developing and delivering postgraduate programmes to support practising pharmacists to grow and reach their potential.

That work became my passion and my mission. Over time, I progressed to Associate Professor. The next logical step was to apply for promotion to Professor — to step into a senior leadership role, but something didn’t feel right. Through career coaching, I realised I needed to feel empowered in my work and to have the freedom to innovate and shape ideas into reality. The structures and processes within the university environment, however well-intentioned, felt restrictive. There was a growing mismatch between my values and the organisation I worked for.

For a long time, I questioned whether I was brave enough to leave a career I had worked hard to build. Stepping into entrepreneurship meant challenging my own assumptions about what I was capable of. There were times I questioned whether I was ready to lead something of my own, but I also knew that I needed to do this and so I started one step at a time by registering the company and taking on the first contract. With each successive achievement my confidence grew.

That philosophy has shaped how we have built EL Healthcare Education. We have grown by staying open to new experiences, embracing collaboration, and experimenting with new ways to create meaningful learning. Four years on, we have achieved far more than we ever anticipated, not because we had everything mapped out, but because we were willing to begin.

Ellie’s Journey

One of the things that has mattered most in my career has been seeing women in leadership. Throughout my work in education, healthcare, and technology, I’ve often been in fields that are quite male-dominated, and stepping into the idea of running a company wasn’t something I had originally imagined for myself. What really made the difference was seeing women around me leading organisations, projects, and ideas in ways that felt thoughtful, collaborative, and purposeful. Those examples showed me that there isn’t just one model of leadership.

My own path began in fine art, working as a video artist using technology in my creative practice. That curiosity about making and experimenting eventually led me into education as a Design and Technology teacher, and later into learning technology in higher education, where I completed a Master’s in Education and Technology. Over time I realised that these worlds were deeply connected — all of them centred around creativity, experimentation, and building new ways for people to learn.

Starting a business ended up feeling like a natural continuation of that creative journey. I had once assumed business would be mostly about finance and structure, but in reality it’s deeply creative — about imagining something that doesn’t yet exist and working out how to bring it into the world. Much like teaching, there is theory and guidance, but ultimately you have to find the way that you lead and build that feels authentic to you. Seeing women lead in their own ways helped me understand that leadership isn’t something you copy — it’s something you learn from and then shape through your own personality and values. Those examples made it possible for me to see a path forward and to feel confident building a company in a way that reflects who I am.

Lizzie and Ellie’s experiences as women navigating entrepreneurship, healthcare and education shaped the kind of company they wanted to build. They are proud of what they have achieved, not simply in business growth, but in impact. From an initial design service offering, EL Healthcare Education has evolved into a trusted partner for organisations seeking high-quality, co-designed digital learning. They have worked with healthcare professionals across the UK, developed innovative programmes, and built a reputation grounded in the very values they defined at the outset.

As a female-founded business, they are also deeply aware that access to opportunity is not equal for all women. If their journey demonstrates anything, it is that confidence, support and access to resources can unlock extraordinary potential.

They hope their story encourages other women who are considering entrepreneurship, or any bold career step, to trust their values, back themselves and begin before they feel completely ready.

This International Women’s Day, EL Heathcare Education are marking the occasion by donating to The MicroLoan Foundation, supporting women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa to build sustainable businesses and create lasting change in their communities. Because empowerment should not be limited by geography, and when women are given opportunity, the impact extends far beyond the individual.